With $30M Settlement in R.I. Club Fire, Total Tops $100M in Ongoing Case

An agreed $30 million settlement by foam manufacturers concerning a Rhode Island nightclub inferno sparked by a rock band’s pyrotechnics brings the settlement total so far to over $100 million. More than 100 people died and another 200 were injured in the Feb. 20, 2003 fire.

But the survivors and the estates of those who didn’t make it still aren’t finished with the case, although the settlement agreement filed in federal court yesterday by makers of soundproofing foam brings it a step closer to resolution, attorney Steven Minicucci, who represents a dozen plaintiffs, tells Reuters.

The agreement must still be approved by the judge in the case before it is final, as well as the plaintiffs, reports the Associated Press.

“A Duke University law professor has been appointed to meet with survivors and victims’ relatives to calculate a formula for how much money each person would receive under the settlements, based on the injuries they suffered,” the AP explains.

Among the remaining several dozen defendants that haven’t yet settled, Minicucci tells Reuters, are the state of Rhode Island and beer manufacturer Anheuser Busch Inc.